Tube-splicing method and apparatus



Oct. 16, 1928. 1,687,811

' N. L. WARNER TUBE SPLICING METHOD AND APPARATUS V Filed Jan. l0. 192814 1716 16 17 14' ./nas- Ua/sh L-UEPHEE Patented l Oct. 16, 1928.

UNITEDl STATES PATENTl OFFICE. f

NOAH L. WARNER, OF AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T THE B. F. GOODRICH COMPANY,0F NEW YORK,- N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK;

f i .i TUBE-SPLICING METHODAN'D APPARATUS.

pplieation led January 10, 1928. SieriaLNo. 245,712.

Thisinvention relates to methods andV apparatus for lsplicing togethertwo ends of tubing composed of an unvulca'nized rubber composition or asimilar plastic and ady hesive material and it is especially adapted forjoiningthe two endsof a single length of tubing to form an` endless tubesue'h as an inner tube for a pneumatic tire.

Heretofore tubes have been spliced by em- -iO ploying at pair ofsplicing sleeves adapted to have the two tube ends mounted therein andculfed back over them respectively and to be brought together to jointhe tube ends in an annular seam and at the saine time cut olf theeuffed-back portions and thus trim the splice, the sleeves beingsectional to permit the removal'therefroin of a tube made endless by thesplice, but the coacting severing edges of the sleeves'have been soshaped 2o as to meet in an annular cuttin'gline lying in a single planeperpendicular to the. axis of thetube, and `it has been found desirableto apply a reinforcing strip to the interior face of the tube to bridgethe seam..

My chief'objects are to provide improved procedure and apparatus wherebya stronger seam may be obtained than in the prior art referred to andwherein the'application of a reinforcing strip may be omitted. Of theaccompanyingdrawings:

Fig. 1 isfa vertical7 longitudinal section of u a pair of sectionalsplicing sleeves andA their mountings embodying and adapted to carry outmy invention in its preferred forni, with the work in place, inreadiness for the sleeves to be brought together to seam the tube endscuffed back upon the sleeves. Fig. 2 is a similar view of thesaineshowing thestage of operation at which the seamtogether land to cutoifthe-surplus rubber ing and severing step has just been effected.

Fig..3 is an elevation ofthe two spliced tube ends. u,

Fig. 4 is a-n elevation, with parts sectioned and broken away, of oneVof the splicing sleeves. y

Referring' to the drawings, each ofthe i sleeves comprises a lowersection 10 and an upper section 11. One of the lower sections v10 issecured in a cradle formed in the upper face of a stationary bracket 12and -the other lower section 10 is secured in a cradle lformedintheupper face of a bracket 13 slidably mounted upon the base of thebracket 12 for movement of one of the sleevesfrom 'v and'toward theother in axial alignment therewith. The upper sect-ions 11 of thesleeves are secured in sockets formed in the lower faces: of carryingmembers 14, '14 hinged, with wide hinge bearings, upon the brackets 1Qand13 respectively, for v'convenience in bringing the sections of eachsleeve together to surround the tube ends 15, l

15 to be spliced and in opening the sleeve to' release the 'tube afterthe splicing operation. The sleeve sections project from -the adjacentsides of their. mountings, to permit the tube ends to be cufi'ed backover them, the culled back portions, shown at 16, 16, being trimmed 'offin the splicing operation. Each sleeve section preferably is formed witha shoulder 17 abutting its mounting to withstand the force with whichthe sleeves are brought together. l l

At their meeting endsthe sleeves are coni-A plementally serrated, .asshown at -18,.to provide a seam of greater. length than thecircumference of the tube,.and the serrations are deeper at the innerthan at the outer periplieiies"of'the sleeves so that the sleeves willcontact eachother only. at their outer peripheries, where the serrationsas described provide compleinental, zig-zag cutting edges adapted firstto deform the stock of the two tube ends into interfittin'g serratedZones and then to trim off the cuffed back portions 16 of the tubeendson a zig-zag orv devious line sleeves', and although the geometry of the sleeves as described is such that the two tube'4 ends, 'joined inoutwardly bent, crimped and interiitted zones, present a ridged seam 19,Fig. 3, in which the stock is 'initially strainedl out of simple',cylindrical forni, I find that when the splicedtube is vulcanized as byenclosing it in a. mold and heating it under internal pressure and thusiattening vto cylindrical form the outer face of the seam, the result isa zig-zag seam so relieved of strains by the plasticity of the stockbe`. fore and during vulcanizat-ion and so conwhich are oblique to thelines of force instead tinuous from the outer to the inner faceof thetube as to be very strong against longitudinal tension of the tube andvery re-` sistant to being opened up by internal iuid pressure. l

The serrated form of the sleevesl provides a kneading or rubbing of thestock of the contacting surfaces asthe sleeves are forced together,whichresults in an effective union of the surfaces, probably because ofa breaking of the surface films of the stock, the effect being somewhatsimilar to that obtained in hammering a rubber seam. The serrated yiformof the sleeves also provides a much v Igreater meeting area for thestockof the two tube ends and consequently greater strength of unionthan is obtained in the prior art and greater stren th also is afforded`b v the lfact that longitu inal tension in thetube at the splice issustained by'joined faces of stock of being substantially perpendicularthereto.

My invention is susceptible of modification without sacrifice of all ofits advantages and I do not Wholly limit my claims to the specific formof apparatus or. to the exact ing the excess of cuifed back stock fromthe seam 4on a zig-zag vline of cut having relation to the serrated formof the said. zones.

. 2. The method of joining two elements of plastic stock lin an annularseam which comprises forcing annular zones of the respect tive elementsinto serrated form and inter` Leeasii fitted relation to each other toform a seam and in the same movement stock from'the seam. v

3. The method of splicing together two tube ends of adhesive stockwhichy comprises so forcing together annular zones of the two as tocause them to adhere to each other in an annular seam ofgreater lengththan the normalcircuxnference of either and in the same movementpinching' ofi' excess stock from the seam. y 4

f4. The method of splicing unvulcanized rubber tubes which comprisesgiving serrated form to annular zones of a pairof trimming excess tubeends and so pressing them together in l registry with each otheraxiallyand withl said Zones in intertted relation to, each other as tocause the tube ends t0 be Joined 1n a devious annular seam.v

- 5. Tube-splicingl apparatus comprising a pair of splicing sleevesformed with serrated end edges. f 4

6. Tube-splicing apparatus comprising a pair of splicing sleeves formedwith serrated end edges and having their end faces inward y from thesaid edges.

7. Tube-splicing apparatus comprising a pair of splicing sleeves, eachof the said sleeves comprising a lurality of sections separable to openthe s eeve, and means for .from the said edges serrated but Arecedingforcing oneof the sleeves toward the other inaxial alignment therewith,the adjacent ends of the. sleeves being formedl to coact with each otherin a cutting opera-tionin an annular line of cutting contact with eachother `not confined to al single plane perpendicular to the axis'of thesleeves.

In-wit'ness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of January,1928.

.NOAH,L. WARNER.

